It is going to be a very busy first quarter of 2014, just came back from Cabo Mexico for the destination wedding shoot for Cindy and Suraj, will travel Las Vegas from 3/2-3/4 for the Wedding and Portrait Photographer International Convention , then 3/6-12 for Akira’s wedding in Japan Tokyo. Email is the best way to contact me during these period.

After the location scouting in the morning, I followed the couple and their families to their rehearsal ceremony and rehearsal dinner. In all the destination wedding shoot I do, the rehearsal dinner coverage is complementary, it is also a great chance to get to know the family and the bridal party. Not only that, I think it would be nice to get some family portrait done for the wedding guests in such beautiful location, so an hour of family portrait session is also included before the rehearsal dinner, just to get all the guests together and take some family pictures for individual families in such beautiful scene. You want to give all guests a great memory and nice images to go back home with, don’t you ?

For all destination wedding shoots I do, I want to make sure I bring out the best part of the location in the couple’s wedding day images. Clients spend a lot of effort picking a special location for their destination wedding and preparing their wedding, not only I want to be well ready for the wedding portrait, but I need to go beyond in making their wedding album special by doing a location scouting, to find out all the best spots to take their wedding day pictures. All destination wedding couple also get a complimentary rehearsal dinner coverage and family portrait session before rehearsal dinner .

Wedding site walk thr with the couple and the site coordinator is crucial if we are approaching a venue that we have not photographed before. It is particularly important for destination wedding, it is a great opportunity for all of us to be together to discuss all the detail logistics of the wedding day. Here are some of the images when I and the bride are meeting the site coordinator Denise the first time to check out the ceremony, cocktail and the reception site for the wedding that is happening this Saturday.

I am very excited for Cindy and Suraj’s destination wedding in Cabo Mexico. The rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony and reception will be at the Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Resort and Spa. I will be with them for the whole trip from 2/19 – 2/24.

Classic. Romantic. Glamorous. Those are the three words that described the vision for Nicole and Nick’s wedding at the fabulous Palace Hotel in San Francisco, CA. The venue played a great part in the inspiration for the wedding. The ballroom at the Palace Hotel has gorgeous ornate gold walls and crystal chandeliers, so we really wanted to play off of that. To keep with the classic romantic esthetic, the colors of the wedding were soft blush, ivory, and gold.

Asiel Design did a fabulous job on the florals keeping a classic shape, but bringing in a gorgeous mix of roses and hydrangeas that had been hand spray painted with metallic gold. The mix of 3 different centerpieces gave a nice high low effect and gave the guests an opportunity to admire the different styles. The dining tables were covered in a soft blush paillette linen and topped with sparkly chargers, adding the perfect amount of glam. Each place setting had a chocolate favor that had a pearl and rhinestone broche on top.

My favorite design piece of the wedding was by far the head table for the bridal party. We chose to do a different linen here to keep it unique from the rest of the dining tables. The linen was a soft blush color with rosettes, adding a beautiful texture to the table. We purchased fabric from the store and created a beautiful drape with a rhinestone broche for the head table chairs. The Palace Hotel’s fireplace was a perfect backdrop to the head table. I simply added high and low candle pedestals on the mantel to add a little candlelight.

I think that one important design element that couples tend to overlook is lighting. Lighting can completely transform a room and adds warmth. For this wedding we stuck with light gold uplights around the room and changed the color tone to a soft rose for the head table to again make it stand out. We also used an antique rosette pattern to add texture to white dance floor.

There were a few special touches for the guests throughout the night. On top of the abundant spread of desserts, a gelato cart rolled into the reception serving up Nicole and Nick’s favorite flavors. It was definitely a hit! And no party would be complete without a midnight snack. Towards the end of the wedding we had a spread of truffled grilled cheese sandwiches and sweet potato fries. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful night. It was a pleasure working with this couple. They had such impeccable taste that it made my job easy. My advice for all the brides out there is to try and embrace the wedding day as much as possible. Before you walk down the aisle, stop and look around and take it all in because the night will fly by with a blink of an eye.